We live in a smog-filled area. The Lehigh Valley is consistently ranked one of the worst air polluted areas in the country.

And, as you might expect, this dirty air contributes to high rates of asthma and lung cancer.

But breast cancer?

A new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives and conducted by a number of Canadian research institutions says yes. Researchers studied air pollution maps—looking at areas with high levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Then they looked at breast cancer clusters.

The areas of high air pollution and the breast cancer clusters overlapped, with women living in high pollution areas being twice as likely to develop breast cancer as women living in low pollution areas. Risk of developing breast cancer jumped 25 percent for every 5 parts per billion increase in NO2.

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ABOUT THE WRITERS

TIM DARRAGH has been reporting and editing the news for 30 years, most of it at The Morning Call. For much of that time, he's been doing award-winning investigative and in-depth reporting projects. Tim created the three-year-long Change of Heart project, and wrote a series on the state's fractured food inspection system that led to widespread improvements in food safety. Meantime, that novice jogger you see plodding along the streets around Bethlehem Township? That would be Tim.